Who Is It For?
by Alasse Earfalas
Summary: An old woman longing for a child. A future prodigy aching for a home.


_Eleanor Rigby _

_Picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been; _

_Lives in a dream._

_Waits at the window, _

_Wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door. _

_Who is it for?_

* * *

I am an old woman. For as long as I can remember, I lived by myself in a small house in the first district of Rukongai.

I always kept a small amount of food in my house. I didn't need it, but I wanted to be prepared. One week before I knew it would spoil, I made a small meal and left it by a neighbor's front door. The following morning would find me at the store, carefully selecting the perfect replacements for the food I had given away.

During the day I kept myself busy making children's clothes and blankets. I did my best to keep them gender-neutral, but I must admit that I did make a few boys' and girls' outfits. These I ended up selling, along with the gender-specific blankets I had sewn. I used the money I earned to pay for food and more sewing supplies.

I was glad that the children in Junrian all had a home. It was wonderful to me that, as soon as these precious souls arrived from the Real World, they would be instantly welcomed into a family. I watched this happen many times. By the time I arrived, the new child had always been accepted into someone else's home.

Decades came and went. Blankets and unused children's clothes were systematically mended or replaced. And I can honestly say that through all those years, I never once gave up hope. I knew that the small, vacant room across from mine would belong to someone. Someday I would have more than my own laundry to wash, and the children's clothes I made would need mending much more often.

One morning, as I was picking out food to take back to my house, I saw a plate of freshly baked rolls. Rarely did I ever purchase food that wouldn't keep for at least three weeks. But perhaps, I thought, I would see a hungry person on the way back to my house. It was unlikely that I would, given how well-off Junrian was, but I bought a roll regardless.

The morning air was chillier than usual. Autumn would be here any day now. I decided to take a more scenic route back to my house, to see if any of the leaves had begun to change color.

Halfway to my house, I heard muffled crying.

I peered into the cluster of trees that lined both sides of the pathway. At first glance, I thought I was looking at a small patch of early snow. But it wasn't snow - it was a child!

I stepped off the path and carefully approached the small child. Boy or girl, I couldn't tell. The child was sitting against a tree, head buried in his or her knees. I heard the child's stomach growl.

"Here."

The child looked up, startled.

"It's alright," I said, holding out the warm roll. "You can have it."

The child stared at me, only glancing at the roll a couple of times as his or her stomach continued to growl. I was suddenly taken aback by the striking teal of the child's eyes.

"How come you're not running away?"

The question came out of nowhere, and I couldn't think of a way to answer it. Run away? From a poor child who was no more than four or five Real World years old? Who would do such a thing?

"Don't worry about that right now," I said. "Here. You're hungry, aren't you?" I smiled. "If you're hungry, then you need to eat something."

The child stared at me a few seconds longer, then slowly took the roll from my hand, mumbled "Thank you," and started eating.

"What is your name, little one?" I asked.

The child swallowed. "Hitsugaya Toushirou," he said quietly.

Ah, so the child was a little boy. "Do you have a family here?" I asked.

He shook his head. A tear fell from his damp eyes.

"A place to stay?"

Again he shook his head.

I smiled. "Would you like to come live with me?"

He stopped right in the middle of taking a large bite, and stared at me again.

"It's not much," I continued. "My house is small, but it does have a beautiful view of the sunsets. Plus I know how to cook, so you won't have to worry about going hungry. What do you think?"

His large eyes were fixed on me. "You're not scared of me?" he asked through his mouthful of bread.

I shook my head. "Of course not." I held my hand out to him. "So? Would you like to come stay with me?"

He stared at me a few seconds longer, then jumped up and buried his face in my robes. He began to sob again.

"There there," I said, gently stroking his fluffy white hair with my free hand. "Come on now, little Toushirou. My- _our_ house isn't far from here."

"...Ba-chan."

His voice was so muffled I could hardly hear it. But there it was: he had called me "Granny".

* * *

_All the lonely people,_

_Where do they all come from?_

_All the lonely people,_

_Where do they all belong?_


End file.
